Sports

Viktor Hovland Wins FedEx Cup With The Best 2 Weeks Of His Career

Published

9 months ago

2023-08-28

ATLANTA, Ga. – Viktor Hovland knew he was playing the best golf of his life. With a six-shot lead in the Tour Championship on Sunday, he reasoned that a steady diet of fairways and greens, with lots of pars, would be the most certain path to winning the FedEx Cup.

Xander Schauffele forced him to alter his ideas.

The 25-year-old Norwegian sensation then outperformed himself.

Hovland didn’t back down from Schauffele’s unrelenting challenge, matching birdies from start to finish at East Lake until he closed off the best two weeks of his career with his biggest prize — a FedEx Cup title and the $18 million bonus.

He closed with a 7-under 63, the lowest winning score in Tour Championship history, and won by five strokes over Schauffele.

“The game plan was to try to play as boring as possible — to play it like Tiger back in the day when he would post a 69 or 70 in a major championship and walk away with the victory,” Hovland explained.

Viktor Hovland knew he was playing the best golf of his life.

This was far from boring golf, with Hovland shooting 63 and Schauffele shooting 62. On the back nine, a six-shot advantage was reduced to three shots when Hovland hammered in a 25-foot par putt on the 14th hole, making an already steep hill impossible for Schauffele to ascend.

“What he was doing today was very special,” remarked Hovland. “It made this day a lot more stressful than it should have been.”

So ended a season in which Hovland won the Memorial for the first time in the United States, had a multiple-win season, and then capped it off with two weeks of superb golf in which he won the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields and the Tour Championship at 36-under par.

“It’s pretty surreal to be standing here right now,” Hovland said as he accepted the FedEx Cup trophy in silver. “I basically played my best golf in the last two weeks, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time.”

Schauffele forced him to work for the $18 million by shooting at flags from the opening hole. He was within three shots of the lead with seven holes to go and had momentum on his side. Then, on the 14th hole, Hovland ended the suspense with a 25-foot par putt, and on the 16th, he put Schauffele away with a 10-foot birdie putt.

Schauffele and Hovland put up a fantastic performance. They achieved the top scores of the day despite playing in the last group on a day that was delayed by over two hours due to thunderstorms. The next highest score was 65 by players with little chance of winning.

“I thought 62 would have let me get close to him,” said Schauffele. “He played incredibly well.” He made crucial putts and played like a champion.”

Hovland entered the Tour Championship with the No. 2 seed, which meant he began the tournament at 8-under par. Hovland finished with a 19-under 261 — the same total as Schauffele, who began the event as the No. 15 seed at 3 under.

It was the second time in four years that no one scored higher than Schauffele, and he departed Atlanta empty-handed. Such is the essence of the FedEx Cup finals and the significance of a great season and a strong showing in the two postseason events preceding the Tour Championship.

Viktor Hovland knew he was playing the best golf of his life.

“I’ll hold my head up high,” Schauffele added. “It was the most fun I’d had losing in a long time.” It’s a strange sensation. I shot 62. I came up short by five points. Hovi deserves nothing but praise. He played incredibly well in the previous few weeks to get himself into this situation and to put the icing on the cake for himself and his club.”

Schauffele did everything in his power. He was six strokes back as he departed East Lake on Saturday evening, knowing his only chance was to put as much pressure on Hovland as he could during the first nine holes.

Schauffele made 30 shots. After a two-hour delay caused by thunderstorms that significantly softened the East Lake turf, Hovland nearly matched him birdie for birdie, carding a 31 that included a crucial 15-foot par save on No. 2.

Despite his California cool, Schauffele was eager for the fight regardless of the odds.

He birdied the par-3 11th hole from 18 feet and then the 12th from 12 feet, trimming the advantage to three strokes with seven holes to play. Given Schauffele’s brilliantly playing and Hovland’s three missed birdie opportunities from 10 feet or closer on the back nine, the margin felt even narrower.

The crucial putt came on the 14th hole, East Lake’s most difficult. Hovland came up around 100 feet short of the green, about 100 feet from the flag, and his pitch could have been better, stopping just inside 25 feet of the hole.

Viktor Hovland knew he was playing the best golf of his life.

He poured it into his heart and fist-pumped harder than he had all day. The deciding shot was another perfect short iron to 10 feet on the 16th for birdie. The engraver then began work on the silver FedEx Cup trophy.

“It was huge for momentum when that putt went in.” “Two shots with four holes to play is not the same as three shots, especially with 15 holes to go,” Hovland added, alluding to the par-3 to a peninsula green. “After that, I just felt really relaxed.”

He finished with three consecutive birdies that were important for the margin of victory.

Now, it’s up to his peers to assess his season. The PGA Tour player of the year was expected to be a two-man contest between Masters champion Jon Rahm and his four wins and Scottie Scheffler, who had two wins and the No. 1 position due to his incredible consistency.

Hovland finished the season with victories at the Memorial and two FedEx Cup playoff tournaments, including the most important.

Wyndham Clark, the US Open champion, won the B-Flight, finishing with a 65 to finish third, 11 strokes back. That equated to a $5 million incentive. Rory McIlroy finished fourth and earned $4 million, while Patrick Cantlay (66) finished alone in fifth and earned $3 million.

The next time Hovland and Schauffele meet will be for no monetary reward — the Ryder Cup in Rome in a month.

SOURCE – (AP)

World

Messi Plays Through A Scare, Inter Miami Rallies Past Montreal 3-2 For Fifth Straight Win

Published

12 hours ago

2024-05-12

Kiara Grace

AP News - VOR News Image

MONTREAL — Lionel Messi played the entire game despite a first-half injury scare, Benjamin Cremaschi broke a tie in the 59th minute, and Inter Miami rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat Montreal 3-2 on Saturday night, its fifth consecutive Major League Soccer victory.

Luis Suarez scored his 11th goal of the season for Inter Miami, while Matías Rojas scored from a free kick. Montreal (3-5-3) got goals from Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and Bryce Duke.

AP – VOR News Image

Messi Plays Through A Scare, Inter Miami Rallies Past Montreal 3-2 For Fifth Straight Win

Inter Miami (8-2-3) extended its unbeaten record to seven games (5-0-2) despite Lionel failing to score or assist for the first time in nine MLS appearances this season. Inter Miami is 7-0-2 in those nine games, with one loss coming against Montreal in March when Lionel did not participate.

Playing in Canada for the first time, Lionel abandoned the game late in the first half due to a problem with his left knee caused by defender George Campbell’s foul. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s best player collapsed immediately, clutching his knee and moaning in agony.

Inter Miami’s medical personnel entered the field to treat Messi, who stood up after around two minutes and headed to the Miami sideline. He was not subbed out, allowing him to return moments later.

AP – VOR News Image

Messi Plays Through A Scare, Inter Miami Rallies Past Montreal 3-2 For Fifth Straight Win

And for some reason, the match shifted at that moment.

Inter Miami was behind 2-0 when Messi was injured; when he returned, the score was 2-1, and it was tied moments later. Rojas scored on a free kick that Messi would normally take to put Inter Miami up, and Suarez added a goal from a corner kick late in the first-half stoppage time.

Suarez became the third player in MLS history to score 11 goals in his first 800 minutes of the season, following Mamadou Diallo (11 in 2000) and Ola Kamara (11 in 2021).

The game-winning goal occurred when Rojas threw a ball into open space, and Cremaschi ran it down. Then, he made a second attempt to nudge the ball just clear of two defenders and into the net for a 3-2 advantage. Messi had two final-minute chances to extend the lead, which he missed narrowly.

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Messi Plays Through A Scare, Inter Miami Rallies Past Montreal 3-2 For Fifth Straight Win

Inter Miami was met by hundreds of fans when it arrived at its hotel Friday night, and Montreal, thanks in part to Messi’s signing with Major League Soccer last summer, sold out its 15,000 season tickets for the first time since joining in 2012. Messi has scored in 31 nations.

The match drew an announced sellout crowd of 19,619 spectators, including one dressed in a Messi tracksuit and sporting a goat mask in tribute to Messi’s status as the Greatest of All Time.

SOURCE – (AP)

Sports

Shohei Ohtani Leaves Late In Dodgers’ Win Over Padres With Back Tightness

Published

12 hours ago

2024-05-12

Kiara Grace

AP News - VOR News Image

SAN DIEGO — Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ standout designated hitter, exited after his fourth at-bat in Saturday night’s 5-0 win against the San Diego Padres due to back tightness, according to manager Dave Roberts.

AP – VOR News image

Shohei Ohtani Leaves Late In Dodgers’ Win Over Padres With Back Tightness

Shohei finished 0 for 3 with a walk and grounded out to the pitcher in his final at-bat in the seventh inning. In the ninth inning, Kiké Hernández came in to pinch-hit.

“His back tightened up,” Roberts added. “So it was one of those situations when I found out before his fourth at-bat that his back had tightened up. So, with a 5-0 lead, we didn’t want to push it. We’ll see how he gets in tomorrow.”

AP – VOR News Image

Shohei Ohtani Leaves Late In Dodgers’ Win Over Padres With Back Tightness

While Roberts stated that his fear was “minimal,” he was “more leaning” towards having Shohei sit out Sunday as a precaution.

“Things could change, but most likely, we’ll probably give him the day (off),” added Roberts.

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Shohei Ohtani Leaves Late In Dodgers’ Win Over Padres With Back Tightness

Ohtani, who signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December, has been one of the most productive hitters in the majors this season. The two-time AL MVP leads baseball with a 1.090 OPS and is hitting.352, trailing just Cleveland’s Steven Kwan (.353). Ohtani also has 11 home runs and 27 RBIs, which rank among the league leaders.

SOURCE – (AP)

Sports

Bruins Hoping Marchand Can Return And Give Team A Boost In Game 4 Vs Panthers

Published

13 hours ago

2024-05-12

Kiara Grace

AP News - VOR News Image

BOSTON — Leon Draisaitl gave the Edmonton Oilers a lift when he returned from injury. Sam Bennett delivered in his comeback to the Florida Panthers.

The Bruins are hoping that Brad Marchand can do the same.

Bennett, who was hurt in Game 2 of Florida’s first-round series against Tampa Bay, returned on Friday night with some big hits in the Panthers’ 6-2 victory over the Bruins, tying the series at one game each. One of the accidents left Marchand fighting to get off the ice and in pain on the bench.

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Bruins Hoping Marchand Can Return And Give Team A Boost In Game 4 Vs Panthers

Replays show Bennett’s hand coming up and appearing to strike Marchand in the face. Bruins coach Jim Montgomery was among several who criticized the hit, saying, “There’s certainly evidence of what happened. People can claim it wasn’t deliberate. We have our opinion about it.”

Panthers’ coach Paul Maurice disagreed.

“It was just a collision,” he explained on Saturday. “In an ideal world, every team has everyone healthy. Nobody wants to see him get wounded.

Bennett was not penalized. Marchand stayed in the game but did not return for the third period. He did not practice on Saturday, and Montgomery stated that the team’s leading scorer in the playoffs was day-to-day.“You never want to see someone go down and not be able to come back, especially a guy who’s your leader and best player,” Bruins forward Charlie Coyle said after practice. “You want everyone to be healthy, so everyone pitches in. But it is an opportunity to stand up, and we can do so.”

Bennett missed five consecutive postseason games after being hurt on April 23, but he returned on Friday night with seven hits and one assist. About a minute after Marchand’s hit, he floored Bruins star David Pastrnak.

“It was nice to get back out there,” Bennett remarked. I believe it is critical not to dip your toe in. I wanted to go out and play at full pace. That is kind of my game. “I believe that’s the only way to approach it.

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Bruins Hoping Marchand Can Return And Give Team A Boost In Game 4 Vs Panthers

Panthers against. Bruins, Florida leads 2-1, 6:30 p.m. (TBS)

Montgomery said he didn’t need to address goalie Jeremy Swayman after the Bruins allowed six goals in each of the previous two games. (Swayman was charged with nine of these.)

The coach believes his goalie was the best player in the first-round series against Toronto. He took over after rotating with Linus Ullmark for nearly the whole season and the first three playoff games. Florida scored five power-play goals, and Swayman made several highlight-reel stops.“Have you seen this guy?” “This guy wants the crease,” Montgomery explained. “That’s the will and the skill that we want from everyone.”

Florida scored ten unanswered goals after Boston opened the scoring in Game 2; the Bruins had never let up ten goals in a row in a playoff series in their century-long history. The Panthers scored four power-play goals in Game 3, a franchise record and the most Boston had allowed in a game since 1992.

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Bruins Hoping Marchand Can Return And Give Team A Boost In Game 4 Vs Panthers

Canucks vs Oilers, tied 1-1, 9:30 p.m. (TBS).

The Oilers were preparing to be without Draisaitl, who was injured late in Game 1 against Vancouver. He was a game-time decision and scored one goal and three assists in Friday night’s 4-3 overtime win, tying the series at one.

Draisaitl has six postseason goals and is second only to teammate Connor McDavid in points (17).

“He’s a great player,” added McDavid, who also scored four points. “He’s a fantastic player, one of the top players in the world, and the best player on many nights. “And tonight was one of those nights.”

SOURCE – (AP)